Highly sought LB in talks with Arkansas

BEAVERTON, Ore.  Arkansas linebacker coach Randy Shannon seems to be making some progress in trying to get a visit from linebacker Sherrod Pittman.

“The conversation is going good,” said Pittman, who’s committed to South Carolina. “He’s wanting me to come down and visit and come to camps. He wants me to come visit and check it out.”

Pittman, 6-1, 220 pounds of Jacksonville, (Fla.) First Coast pledged to the Gamecocks last summer. He has numerous offers, including Arkansas, Miami, Clemson, Florida, Florida State and LSU. He said Shannon is trying to get him to Fayetteville for an unofficial visit. Video highlights CLICK HERE

“I really don’t know, probably four out of ten, because I don’t have transportation,” Pittman said.

The odds for an official visit to Arkansas appears better.

“I haven’t decided where I’m going to take my officials,” said Pittman, who said South Florida, Southern Cal and Rutgers are other schools he’s considering visiting.

Pittman said Shannon plans to make his way down to northern Florida.

“He said he’s going to come down and watch me and spend more time with me,” Pittman said. “That’s neat.”

Shannon has compared Pittman to a former Miami and current Pittsburgh linebacker

“He told me I look like Sean Spence,” Pittman said. “He told me I remind him of Sean Spence. He said he wants to coach me real bad. That’s very interesting.”

Pittman is rated the No. 6 inside linebacker and the No. 178 overall prospect in the nation by ESPN.

“He said we need ball players,” Pittman said of Shannon. “He said they need me so they want me to come down and make an official visit if I can. He’s just throwing straight shots at me.”

He gave an update on his commitment status to South Carolina.

“I’m pretty solid, but any team can go ahead and scoop me up,” he said